I have a 2011 RKC. I live in Utah and rarely ride in very hot weather...maybe 90 degrees at the most but rarely is it that hot. I'm wanting to replace my headpipe to get rid of the cat and reduce the heat. I can't decide whether I really need a ceramic coated headpipe or not. What do folks here think?

Thanks for the replies....I guess the better question is if anyone has ran both and if they felt any heat difference. Just getting rid of the cat is going to reduce heat a lot whether it's a ceramic coated or just a stainless headpipe.

 

Ceramic coating is added to a headpipe for performance reasons, any affect on comfort is really a side benefit. Ceramic coating helps to retain heat inside the pipe which improves exhaust scavenging.

 

The question I have about ceramic coating is your coating the inside correct? that's going to narrow the ID restricting the inside of the pipe to a narrower dimension right? Isn't that supposed to be a bad thing having a narrower ID pipe? I would probably be more interested in wrapping the outside of the pipe instead of insulating the inside but that's just me....

 

Ceramic coatings are pretty thin, I would think it would have a negligible impact on diameter.

 

I live in FL and have the jackpot non-ceramic headpipes and they work just fine. I am sure there is some benefit to the heat with ceramic ones, but I am very happy with the ones that I have.

 

On a Harley motor, you'll notice no performance gain from ceramic coating. The pipe will stay a bit cooler and it'll be more weather resistant.

 

trying to make the same decision. Jamie at FM told me that it runs a little cooler...that's it. No performance gain, sound change. "Not really much difference." I am going with Stainless.

 

I had a set of headers ceramic coated on a V8 engine re-build. I did not realize any performance improvement but there was a very noticeable reduction of heat radiating from the exhaust headers.

If I were going to replace or remove the stock exhaust headers on my '09 Ultra Classic, I would definately have them coated.

 

I have a '10 Limited and had the header ceramic coated by Jet-Hot. Even though I don't live in a terribly hot area (just south of Denver), the ceramic coating has made an incredible difference in comfort - in traffic, at stop lights, etc. Can't say that I notice it much when cruising on the Interstate, however.

Well worth the money IMHO, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it or to do it again on the next bike!

 

I ceramic coated my pipes inside and out , it definately feels cooler on my leg , if I had to do it again I'd just buy the Dragulas from Frank as they come coated